Tournament reunites doctor, girl

Samantha Quinata, right, is shown with Dr. Thomas Shieh at the 16th Annual Shieh High School Invitational Volleyball Tournament. Shieh, an obstetrician, delivered Quinata 16 years ago, and her team, the George Washington Geckos, won the tournament this year.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Dr. Thomas Shi)

Almost 16 years ago, during the summer of 1999, Dr. Thomas Shieh came up with the idea to hold a preseason girls' volleyball tournament. It was a great idea to get his two daughters, Beverly and Tiffany, an opportunity for some extra playing time before the high school girls' volleyball season began.

"At that time, there were no great preseason volleyball tournaments," Shieh said via email. "So I wanted to help break in the butterflies for the players and coaches and also help the kids focus. That's why the motto of the tournament has always been 'study hard, play hard.'"

As always, he continued to do his job as an obstetrician/gynecologist and delivered babies during the planning stages of the inaugural Shieh Invitational volleyball tournament. One particular baby Shieh helped bring into the world was little Samantha Quinata, who was born on Aug. 8, 1999, to her proud parents Carl and Sandra Quinata.

Sixteen years

The Quinata family and Shieh had no idea that their paths would cross once again 16 years later at the 16th Annual Shieh High School Invitational Volleyball Tournament held at <FZ,1,0,17>the George Washington High School gymnasium.

This time, however, it was Samantha Quinata who was doing the lifting — the championship trophy — with the outright champions, the George Washington Geckos.

"I was pleasantly surprised to meet her mom, who reminded me that I delivered her daughter exactly 16 years ago," said Shieh. "She was just a newborn when the Shieh Invitational was born. What an amazing coincidence."

"It reminded me of how long I have been on Guam and how each year that goes by, I get to see many more of the babies I have delivered in this volleyball invitational," he said.

Samantha Quinata is a standout middle blocker for the George Washington Geckos in the Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam.(Photo: Mark Scott/PDN)

'Pretty amazing'

Quinata is humbled by what Shieh has done for the sport all these years.

"I think that what Dr. Shieh has been doing is pretty amazing. Every year when I play volleyball I always look forward to the Shieh tournament," Samantha Quinata said. "It gives us more playing time and it gives us a glimpse of what to expect for the upcoming season. With having a full-time job and a busy schedule, I really don't know how he organizes this tournament, but it's amazing that he continues to do what he does."

"It's really cool that I'm 16 and 16 years ago was the first-ever Shieh tournament — and I think it's awesome that Dr. Shieh was the doctor that delivered me."

Sisters, teammates

That 8-pound, 8-ounce baby became the tallest child in the family, said Sandra Quinata. The 5-foot-8-inch Samantha is the youngest of four girls, with sisters Maria, 26, Marissa, 24, and Colleen, 17, coming before her. Colleen is a senior outside hitter for the same GW team.

"Sammy has been playing on the varsity team since she was a freshman. I have watched her and her sister Colleen play volleyball since they were at Agueda Johnston Middle School," said GW head coach Bobbi Quinata, who is the sisters' aunt.

Both Samantha and Colleen Quinata are key components on the Gecko team, according to Bobbi Quinata. Samantha Quinata is lovingly known as Sam or Sammy to her teammates and brings a positive personality, attitude and smile along with great athletic ability.

Because of her height and ability, Samantha Quinata plays middle blocker for the Geckos. The junior's responsibilities are to protect the net, and to attack the short sets before the opponents can recover. That's a job she does as well as any other middle blocker in the league.

"I play a lot of sports and I can honestly say that volleyball is one of my favorites," Samantha Quinata said. "I love it because of the competition and I love competition. I love going up against the best because that's the only way to get better."

One of the best that Samantha Quinata has seen happens to be on the same court, her sister Colleen. She is the source of her continued dedication to the sport.

"My sister Colleen is the one that inspires me. She inspires me to want to be a better player because — well, yeah — she's my competition and it's been like that my entire life," said Samantha Quinata. "I'm always wanting to be better because of her."